episode_0085

A huge shockwave explodes, sending the bastard’s flesh flying.

Drops of blood pour out like a fountain in all directions. Even the ribs that had been buried in the flesh are torn in two and scattered on the floor.

The puppet ended up with a hole in his side the size of his own head.

There was no need to say that it was fatal. It was a wound that would not be strange if he died at any moment. Even if he was still alive, it was a wound that would soon lead to excessive bleeding.

A puppet with no regenerative powers will die on its own.

Kuung!

“Keok···.”

The guy fell to the floor helplessly. Bright red blood was flowing out of the corner of his mouth.

“Done!”

“I won!”

The faces of the party members who saw that scene brightened. They probably thought that was a victory.

Even I want to feel relieved right now, thinking that I have seized the opportunity. If it were up to me, I would go to Yuris and Lily and share the victory drink right away.

But that can’t be done… because I have a history of being hit in the back of the head.

The timing was similar to this when I caught Chungwang last time. When I landed a big hit and everyone was happy.

To be honest, I sincerely hope that something like last time won’t happen again······.

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Forced fate!]

It was impossible.

A giant text message announcing disaster appears on the retina. The same three WARNING! texts as before. A crisis that could destroy the entire party.

It felt like the whole world was turning bright red, as if an alarm was going off.

But the world itself was dyed black.

Slowly…

Suddenly, black smoke bursts out from all over the castle. The party members who sensed the change spoke up one by one.

“What is it?”

“Wait a minute, something is weird!”

Soon, the black smoke seeped into the puppet and closed the wound on his side. It did not regenerate.

But he was able to fully function by replacing the body he lost.

The puppet master mutters absentmindedly.

“···What is it? What is it?”

I guess the guy was embarrassed too.

The guy looked around to understand the situation. After looking around for a while, he seemed to understand the situation and let out a big laugh.

‘···Fuck.’

By then, I could also realize what that smoke was.

“Keuh, keuheuheu··· Yeah, I see. This is allowed. Enen, that damned whore must have used up quite a few resources last time···.”

That’s the Demon King’s ability.

Just like when he captured the Minotaur, this time too the Demon King intervened. He divided his power and gave it to the Four Heavenly Kings.

But this time, the amount was on a different level. Unlike last time, when there was just a little smoke rising from the body, this time, black smoke completely covered the entire room.

I cursed inwardly.

‘Fuck.’

The Four Heavenly Kings have become stronger, and now the Demon King is involved? There is a limit to what is unreasonable.

“Thank you, Demon King. I will not waste this opportunity you have given me.”

Soon, the guy resumed his activities. The party members started preparing for what would happen next with serious faces.

I also watched the guy’s actions nervously. What is he planning to do? Magic? Or supernatural powers?

The correct answer was ability.

Hwaaak!

The supernatural powers enhanced by the Demon King’s abilities begin to manifest.

Although I couldn’t see or touch it, I could feel that something had passed by.

I hurriedly checked my body to see if there was anything wrong. Ironically, there was nothing wrong with my body. There was nothing twisted or motionless. I checked to see if there was anything wrong with my mind, but there didn’t seem to be anything like that.

‘what?’

Feeling puzzled, I raised my head and looked around. And then I realized.

“Ah.”

The target of this attack wasn’t me. It was my party members.

All the party members were brainwashed, like puppets on a string.

*

“Haa, ha, I guess it’s hard to brainwash you. As expected of a warrior, why is it so hard to control···.”

Blink.

Lily, who had lost consciousness for a moment, came to her senses upon hearing the puppeteer’s words.

It was as if something had passed by, an invisible but immense force that could not be resisted.

“So I brainwashed your party members in a hurry. It looks like you care about your comrades quite a bit.”

Lily tried to turn her head to look around.

“Huh?”

But my body didn’t move properly.

Not only my head, but even my little finger. It was as if someone had tied my body tightly, and I lost control of my body.

It was a familiar feeling to her. It was something she had experienced a couple of weeks ago, which was terrible.

Boom boom boom!

Her heart started pounding like crazy as the trauma kicked in. Cold sweat formed.

I had hoped that this situation would not come to pass, but it ended up being the same as before the regression. And just like last time, everyone except the warrior was brainwashed.

She was terrified and called out to the warrior in a desperate manner. Fortunately, it seemed that his mouth and mind had not been brainwashed.

“Luke? Luke!!”

“Huh?”

“···Huh?”

There were two people who reacted. Luke and the puppet master looked at her at the same time.

The puppet master looked at Lily and said in a curious manner.

“That’s strange. I clearly intended to brainwash him into passing out… But I guess he’s a wizard. His mental barrier is quite thick.”

Continue speaking.

“Well, I have control of your body, so it doesn’t matter, but then, let’s fight to our hearts’ content among those tight-knit party members.”

Exactly!

The fight began as soon as the puppet master snapped his fingers.

Camilla and Adele, having read his mind, rush towards Luke as if caught in a thread.

The saintess also placed a debuff on Luke, wondering if losing consciousness meant he couldn’t use magic.

The Brand of Sin and the Shackles of the Soul. A skill that gives additional damage to a designated target and a skill that reduces physical abilities. Luke’s movements were noticeably slowed down.

That wasn’t all.

Lily also began to prepare magic against her will.

A spear of ice slowly formed above her hand. She fought hard against it, but it was no use.

“No··· No···!”

By then Luke was already fighting hard against the party members.

‘shit···,’

Growing up party members was now actually becoming a poison.

Fighting two men in the line while under the Saint’s debuff was a burden even for him.

But that doesn’t mean you can just hit your party members with a skill like ‘Painful Memory’…

Although he had no choice but to drain his strength with skills like ‘Blood Absorption’, this had its limits.

Of course, it wasn’t all bad. Beyond the party members, you can see a guy sweating profusely.

“Ugh··· Ugh······.”

The puppet master is also being unreasonable.

Of course, brainwashing four high-level enemies at once is definitely not an easy task. Even with the help of the Demon King, it would be difficult. The guy probably wouldn’t be able to evade properly if he attacked.

‘The problem is how to get through here···.’

Meanwhile, the attacks continued.

A spear made of ice flies in and embeds itself in Luke’s side. Blood spews out of Luke’s mouth.

“Coolook!”

“Gyaaaah! Luke?! I’m sorry, Luke! I’m so sorry, sob······.”

Lily cried and screamed when she saw that sight. It must have been crazy to be mentally sound while not moving her body.

It wasn’t helping, it was just a hindrance. Even if it was because of the puppet master’s power, this situation was too painful for her.

‘Tea, it would be better to blow yourself up···.’

Lily had this idea. She couldn’t control her magic, but she could let go of control. She could explode all the magic in her body and die along with the nearby puppets.

At that moment, she was standing near the puppet master to avoid being subdued by the warrior.

So, it is possible now···.

so······.

“It’s okay. There is a way···.”

“···Huh?”

It was then that Luke spoke again.

As he said, there was a way.

Even if my magical power is depleted, even if my limbs are cut off and my whole body is covered in wounds, even if I am so exhausted that I feel like I might collapse at any moment.

No matter what anyone says, he still had one last skill left.

And we have some estimates.

‘···You only have to sacrifice a few years of your life.’

If you restore a little bit of magic power and greatly increase agility, you will be able to cut through party members and cut down the guy.

Compared to last time when I was dealing with a dishwasher, it was much better now.

‘But that can’t be.’

But Luke gave up on that choice.

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but it seems like it would be a waste to sacrifice your lifespan to increase your physical abilities.

If you put it up temporarily, it will eventually disappear, right? There must be something that will have more value for a longer time.

“If you’re going to give, do it more efficiently.”

Even if it costs a little more, it can be used for a long time.

As it turned out, he had a great way to do it.

Open the system window and check one skill that has very little percentage left.

[Completion: 88.9%]

The very moment of the solitary summoning. Luke felt that now was the time to summon it.

“I dedicate 5 years of my life to this summoning circle.”

[Completion: 93.9%]

[Condition not met!]

[Summoning is not possible yet!]

Shooo!

As life passes, as always, an unpleasant sensation takes over my whole body.

A feeling of emptiness that nothing can replace. A feeling like a part of your soul has been eaten away.

“Yeah, it can’t be done in one go.”

Honestly, I didn’t even expect it.

Pok! Pok!

At that moment, an arrow struck Luke’s left shoulder. It was an arrow fired by Adele.

Luke continued what he was doing, regardless.

“···Add 5 years to your life.”

[Completion: 98.9%]

[Condition not met!]

[Summoning is not possible yet!]

The remaining percentage is just 1.1 percent.

I always think about it, but the power of sacrifice isn’t that efficient either. It’s only 1% of one year of life. Even though the amount of magical power that goes into it is enormous, it’s too cheap.

It is literally a life-saving skill that must be used in an emergency situation.

So what should I fill the rest with? It was a waste to sacrifice my life.

It was true that it was a fairly important resource, even though it was invisible to the eye. I poured all my remaining magic power into it in a hurry, but it only took 0.1%.

Crunch!

“Keok···.”

“Luke!”

Then another attack came towards him. Camilla’s sharp sword cut Luke’s right arm.

The deeply cut right arm was dangling ungainly. Damn, now my mana is low and I can’t regenerate it properly.

‘I can’t help it.’

My dangling right arm is useless anyway. I decided to just throw it away while it’s still connected.

“Offer your right arm to the summoning circle.”

[Completion: 99.3%]

[Condition not met!]

[Summoning is not possible yet!]

It is not something that is offered haphazardly in an emergency situation.

You are paying the price while calculating carefully with a confused mind.

Now the remaining percentage is just 0.7%.

Lily, whose trauma was triggered nearby, shouted something, but Luke ignored her.

Instead, Luke calmly considered what he would offer next. It would be enough to temporarily lose one or two more arms.

‘···caecum.’

They say that people can live without an appendix without any problems.

Moreover, if it’s something that just disappears for a little while, I can give it to you as much as I want.

He additionally donated one of his left legs. Even then, the percentage was still a little low, so he had to donate some of his own blood. Then, the percentage was barely full.

[Completion: 100%]

[Conditions met!]

Now he is a cripple with no arms or legs.

[The summoning of Loneliness begins!]

But that’s okay. At least the casting was successful.

Hwaaah!

An elaborate purple summoning circle rises into the air.

A massive amount of magical power was gathering in the summoning circle, and it was about to summon an ancient disaster. Even the puppet master hesitated at the ominous purple light.

“Wait a minute, that’s···? How did you do that!”

Yes, since they were also the Four Heavenly Kings, they would know this technique. But it was already too late.

Long ago, before there was an empire. Before the Dish-A-Gwi was even born.

But a little further in the future than when the sun had yet to rise from the earth.

In a country that loved war, a little slime was born.

In an ominous, crimson color.

It was a harmless slime, except for its slight intelligence and the slight transformation of its body, but it was a monster and had enough reasons to die.

Mercenaries and soldiers came from all over the place. There was no bounty on him, but everyone he saw was trying to kill him. Every time, Slime had no choice but to run away.

While he was running away like that, the country he was born in started a war.

It was a big war. A war so big that it covered almost an entire continent.

When a battle goes beyond a certain scale, no one can stop it. The intensely gathered power explodes and collides with all directions.

The entire plain was dyed in blood. Countless people died, and many emotions clashed. The torrent of emotions included the desire to live, hatred for the enemy, and sorrow for the death of comrades.

Many powerful beings have oxidized, and countless technologies have been created and then faded away.

Slime wandered through such battlefields, paradoxically because it was perfect for his survival.

In that huge war, no one cared about a fist-sized slime.

Slime saw and learned many things there. He understood what countless long weapons, such as spears and swords, looked like. He also realized how they killed living things.

The guy who had a talent for imitating decided to try imitating many things with his body.

Every time I followed along, my skill level gradually increased.

Afterwards, when following something, even the size and mass could be set at will. The ideas gathered on the battlefield made it possible.

A guy with intelligence naturally learns how to use weapons.

Dozens of spears are stronger than one. It is more efficient to cut with hundreds of swords than to cut with one sword.

He used what he learned to take revenge on the country that had tormented him.

It didn’t take long for the nation that dreamed of conquering the continent to fall.

That’s how he was made. He was born as just an ominous-colored slime, and after receiving the thoughts of tens of thousands of people, he transformed into a true monster.

The second of three solitudes confined in the world.

Although we cannot imitate the nature of all things, we can imitate the forms of all things.

“···Come out, all changes.”

Slowly…

As Luke muttered, a thick liquid spurted out. It wasn’t very big.

It’s only about the size of your fist. But it can grow to dozens of times its size at any time.

It felt like he was able to communicate with the spirits, perhaps due to the effect of the summoning.

I feel like I can ask him anything because I am soul-bonded to him. The strange sensation of something invading my body persists.

Luke doesn’t deny the feeling and gives the guy an order. He points his finger at the puppet.

“···Go and kill him.”

Finally, the guy was shot.

A black, amorphous entity evades the party members here and there and arrives in front of the puppet master.

Then he made himself into a ball shape and locked the puppet in. And then he launched countless spear attacks.

Thorns sprouted from the ball-shaped prison and attacked the puppet master.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

“Kkaaa …

A scream echoed inside the crimson sphere for a while.

The guy who struggled until the end ended up going away in vain.